Page 61 of Man Hands
Fuck.
I check the timer, because it’s obvious that eating a dozen or so cheese puffs is the only thing that will make me feel better. Wait—there’s something else. I text SadieandAsh.
Me:Does anyone want to discuss thirty seconds of video and cheer me up? Where areyouguys?
Ash: Working on alisting.
Sadie: Busy cleaning the girls’ bedroom.Sorry!
Me: I have Brazilian cheese puffs and wine. They’re still warm. (The cheese puffs, notthewine.)
Ash: I’ll be thereinfive.
Sadie: Don’t eat them allwithoutme!
* * *
“I’m sorry,honey. But that was definitely a cuddle,” Ash sayspragmatically.
“Although I didn’t see a butt grab,” Sadiepointsout.
“Maybe you can’t grab butts in prime time,” Iventure.
“Let’s Google her,” Ash says, reaching for herphone.
“No!” I yell. “Don’t. Really. I don’t want to know. She looks five years younger than me, and forty pounds lighter.” Plus, Tom and I once agreed not to Google eachother.
Ash puts her phone away without a word and then tops up my glassofwine.
Just after we’ve eaten the last of the balls, my phone rings. And when I see that it’s Tom, I get a crazy little smile on my face. I know this because Ash and Sadie point andlaugh.
“Hush, bitches,” I insist as I answer. “Hello?”
“Hi,” he says, his voice a lowscrape.
I feel tingles just from that one word. “Hiiiii,” I sigh into the phone, while Ash and Sadie clap their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing at me. I march into the kitchen for a littleprivacy.
“I have news. I wanted to tell them in person, but it looks like I’m jumping on a flighttonight.”
“Them?” I ask,confused.
“You,” he says quickly. “And your boobs. I was just thinking about your boobs.Sorry.”
“No problem,” I say. Now my nipples are tingling. And then I realize that he just said he was flying away. “Where are yougoing?”
“Quebec. The network wants me to shoot aspecial.”
“That’s great!” I say, even though I really don’t mean it. I thought we had a few more weeks to be fake-engaged together. I was really looking forwardtoit.
“It’s all right,” he says. “Not quite as good as being nakedwithyou.”
Now myeverythingis tingling. “It’s a good sign that the network wants you back, though.” That had been the point of our fake engagement, anyway. Is he done with mesosoon?
“We’ll see,” he says. “They’re in a bind, and this is my chance to help them out. The pay is pretty great too. We’ll have to celebrate when I get back in a couple ofweeks.”
“I’d love to celebrate with you.” Anytime. Anyhow. I’ve gotitbad.
“Is that right?” His voice gets all low and sexy. “How do you think we shouldcelebrate?”
